Steep Roof, Large Ring?

[BlossomMerz]

Thanks, everyone, for the encouragement. I did restore a damaged 16' yurt a few years ago, so I'm not a complete newbie to this. I've just never designed and built one myself.

On the topic of standards, though, I now want to design mine to use an off-the-shelf acrylic

dome

and roof cover from

Pacific Yurts

. Can anyone point me to documentation of the sizes I should shoot for to make this possible? Should I just buy those parts first and design the whole thing around direct measurements?

Specifically, I would like these measurements from a 24' Pacific Yurt:
-

Dome

diameter. Folks have said 48". Is this the true diameter of the bottom of that dome? I'll size the roof ring to this.
- Roof pitch in degrees. (Top of the rafter at the outer wall and the ring are good enough. I can calculate the pitch from that if I need to.)
- Roof pole size. What's the cross-section shape and size? 2x2? 2x4? What length?

I'm close enough to them that I might just take a trip up there. I have to wonder, though, if they would be pleased to have a "tire kicker" show up and take measurements in order to duplicate their design. Even if I'm going to buy a bunch of parts from them, it seems like they might get a little miffed that I can't afford to just buy a whole yurt.

Thanks again for any help y'all can give.

[BlossomMerz]

Oh, hey!

I finally found the page of PDF documents on the Pacific Yurt website. Pacific Yurts-Downloads

It gives me most of the measurements that I need, I think. But then there's a statement in one of the files... "NOTE:

Pacific Yurts

does not provide parts for structures that we did not manufacture." This is from the Top Cover Order Form on the downloads page.

Has anyone actually bought domes or covers for homemade yurts directly from them?

Blossom

[Woodyrock]

Blossom:

You might just as well sew, or seam weld your own cover. Since you have the skills to build the frame, the cover should not be that much of a task for you. Whilst, I have not sewn a large cover, I have however sewn boat sails that were much larger. Once the fabric is rolled, each new panel fits under the machine arm, and if you have a good table set up the whole thing will slide right through. I used seam sailmakers tape on all my seams, which serves a twofold purpose. First, it holds the seam together whilst sewing, and secondly, it waterproofs the seam. It is advisable to use a thread oiler to lessen the needle gumming.. Oil the bobbins too. That said, some cover material can be glued, and does not requires sewing.
Woody

[Jafo]

I agree with Woody, but if you absolutely do not want to do that, I believe

Colorado Yurts

sells parts. I have also heard that

Yurts of America

plan on opening a parts department any day now.

[BlossomMerz]

You're both right, of course. I have the equipment to build the roof and wall covers myself. Production sewing is part of my business as a weaver, after all.

I was just continuing with an earlier idea that I should go with "standard" measurements so that I can buy parts off the shelf. I guess it's just the dome that I'll need, then, unless I stitch something out of vinyl. I'll modify my design to include a 48" diameter ring and a 30 degree pitch. I'll worry about the dome later on.

I really do like the aesthetics of Paul King's detailed hardwood crown and his tapered and chamfered roof rods. As long as I'm building this thing myself, I think I'll do some extra leg work to make it that kind of beautiful.

These plans could all change if a used one shows up, but I'm going to plan as if it won't.

Thanks for all your feedback.

[Woodyrock]

Blossom:

Have a look at my Ger gallery for some details of a traditional build.

Woody

[BlossomMerz]

And, the idea of "standard" went out the window for me when I found that

Colorado Yurts

domes are 5' wide instead of the 4' that I believe to come from Pacific Yurts. I'm going to design around the 5' ring because I want as much light as I can get.

Living and learning!

Blossom

[Bob Rowlands]

I know this is an old thread. I wanted to add my .02. A traditional Mongolian yurt pitch is quite shallow. 22.5 degrees is what I consider to be perfect for a 5' 4" wall height, from a visual standpoint. The pitch on my yurt is about 24.5 degrees, and very slightly too steep. When I laid out the pitch, I wanted a bit more clearance to the bottom of the roof ring. In hind sight, 22.5 would have been best. There would be a bit less area to heat, and as it turns out, headroom isn't an issue at all. This is all visuals. I like the trad Mongolian yurt look.

[Jake]

I would guestimate that the majority of the yurts put up in North America are in the 20-30 degree pitch, in Mongolia few are over 24 degrees, and they big ones.

The yurt calculator posted earlier here is excellent. Jafo and Bob also posted on other threads about using the Simpson fasteners for attaching rafters to the tono and the walls. For a 24' yurt in OR I for sure would want 2 X 4s at least for rafters. And at least four, or more posts in the wall, besides the cable around the khana. If you put in a modern window its frame is also an excellent way to include solid posts.

There is a huge amount of information here, free for the reading. You can put two good posts in the khana from the door frame, 4 or more from a couple windows. That way in a 24' dia yurt you have a good anchor to brace against wind and downward forces.

Happy researching !